Our tiny, half bath has no windows, about 5 feet by 4.25 feet, 7.5 foot celing. It looks much bigger and lighter after my renovation. I would definitely stay with light colors, and use colors from the natural world, soft blues, greens, taupes. Cool colors recede. There is a very light sky blue on the ceiling. Natural light wood for your cabinetry, if any. The cabinet you show is good, light wood, simple sleek lines, but I don't like the dark floor. A pedestal sink or a floating vanity or one on legs so you can see the floor, adds visual space. Outdoor elements in your decor: plants, polished pebbles, shells, birds. I like the idea of numerous tiny lights dangling from the ceiling. I've also seen strip lights behind crown molding, with a gap between that and the ceiling. The ceiling looks luminous and floating - you don't see where it meets the walls. But one wall sconce was enough in my bath, once I did it in light colors. Some wallpapers also blur boundaries. I used Thibaut Augustine with hummingbirds and grasses and was astonished by the spacious effect it gave; I just got it because I like hummingbirds. http://www.thibautdesign.com/collection/old_collection.php?patternID=126&productID=2577 For some reason, stone, even light stone, always looks heavier and darker to me than tiles. Just one color on the floor, and a pattern that keeps the eye moving, diagonal, hexagonal, staggered.

Hey...I HATE high ceilings! I really don't think everyone loves them if that makes ya feel better. I find them cavernous and cold. I'm currently fighting with my MB redo and have dreams of drywalling down several feet to lower the ceiling lol. It was vaulted in the "flip" and I wish they hadn't....or at least not as high. Since your house is more historic in feeling than many, 8' is in keeping and not a detriment IMHO. BTW? My ceilings in my NE home are 7'4".....I love the coziness of them and the fact that I can use a regular roller to paint them lol. Most existing homes have 8' ceilings so don't see it as a big drawback. Only homes built in the last 10 or 15 yrs or so have gone with the vaults and that's hardly the majority of existing homes. White ceilings if contrasted with wall colors bring a ceiling DOWN. It's avoiding strong contrasts at the break that lifts the eye.....drapes to the ceiling are also important....anything vertical such as several prints stacked above one another etc. When we were redoing my folk's home to ready it for sale, I painted the ceilings in their beige bedroom a l/2 formula. My father fought me on this but could not BELIEVE his eyes when the ceiling suddenly went "up"! (Admitting he's wrong is something my dad doesn't "do" much lol!!) I'm not a fan of painting certain colors on the ceiling....it works great with some tones but a green ceiling wouldn't do much for me. Red rooms look great with pale gold ceilings if not white.

Blackbirds will make a real mess of the mulch. i have put down bark chippings and been really pleased with the appearance. I have then come back after half an hour and found it strewn all over the lawn. However i just brush it back with a besom broom. I would never attempt to deter either a robin or blackbirds. The garden would be lifeless without them. As for digging holes it would not be birds, they just scrape around the surface and chuck loose stuff about. Cats would not regularly dig holes and wild ones would not dig any cause they do not bury faeces. Foxes or badgers will dig though their work is often described as scrapes and badgers will leave little scrapes all over the lawn as they go after worms. I am wondering about squirrels. They are actively burying food at the moment or might even be searching for food. They could be doing it as soon as it is light. We get grey squirrels in our garden but I have not seen them yet, but my wife has. As to deterring them.... I don't think anyone can. If its red squirrels then i certainly would not bother but instead would try to encourage them with food. The reds need all the help they can get.

hahaha mushcreek. I can relate as I used to do paper sculpture. I suppose I could do a scaled model of my house. Hmm, maybe I should? Nah! Lindsy, I did use my computer program (photoshop) to sketch up what I wanted at first. I didn't work with an architect which is probably why it took me so long. I worked with a draftsman. Big Mistake! If I had it to do over, I would have brought my ideas to an architect. This is the very first sketch I brought the draftsman. Notice I didn't really concern myself with actual sizes etc but only with an overall general feel of which rooms I wanted where. For example, I knew the garage had to be where it was and I was required to have the front door on the other street (it's a corner lot). I also knew I wanted a "courtyard feel to my back yard and I wanted my kitchen near my garage. I also knew I wanted the master, DH's study (labeled den) and the great room to open to the yard. The problem was as some here alluded to, was that he then got stuck on the idea of the stairway where I had it, etc. He couldn't visualize anything on his own. I have a design background, so wound up designing it completely by myself WITH the help of the folks and especially with the help of the architects on this forum. And this is what we wound up with: